What Does the RPG Hobby Need Now?

[kronovan]

I suppose it must be a New England thing. It is easy to find bars and breweries with monthly game nights here. I would have guessed the pacific northwest would have been simar.

I can't speak for USA PacNW cities, but here in Vancouver Canada I could only classifly the public TTRPG situation as poor. It began before covid when the CDN $ tanked against the USD, games sales suffered and we lost a couple of LGSs that were primary hosts for D&D AL. The Covid lockdown shut it down for some time & post covid we lost the comic store that had been the heart of the PFS. It's too bad, because during the early-mid 2010s the scene was vibrant & healthy.

It's very much the case here now, that IRL tables are almost all private affairs. The public boardgaming scene is doing OK and CCGs and some miniature lines are still hosted in public venues. And the 3 Game Worshop stores are holding on. We still have 2 sizable conventions here; 1 mostly dedicated to boardgames and the other to TT miniatures. Still, for a city of 2.5 million, public gaming overall seems bleak when I consider the days of my youth. Back then, other than only having 1 convention, overall the scene was almost as active and venues as numerous when we were barely over 1 million in pop.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if there's tables and venues here I'm not aware of. Which is another part of the problem - if there is a smaller public event held, it isn't advertised nearly as well as such events were a decade ago.
So... I guess at least in my city, something the TTRPG hobby needs is events, PFS and AL hosted again at public venues. And...good advertising of them.

 

[monsmord]

I can't speak for USA PacNW cities, but here in Vancouver Canada I could only classifly the public TTRPG situation as poor. It began before covid when the CDN $ tanked against the USD, games sales suffered and we lost a couple of LGSs that were primary hosts for D&D AL. The Covid lockdown shut it down for some time & post covid we lost the comic store that had been the heart of the PFS. It's too bad, because during the early-mid 2010s the scene was vibrant & healthy.

It's very much the case here now, that IRL tables are almost all private affairs. The public boardgaming scene is doing OK and CCGs and some miniature lines are still hosted in public venues. And the 3 Game Worshop stores are holding on. We still have 2 sizable conventions here; 1 mostly dedicated to boardgames and the other to TT miniatures. Still, for a city of 2.5 million, public gaming overall seems bleak when I consider the days of my youth. Back then, other than only having 1 convention, overall the scene was almost as active and venues as numerous when we were barely over 1 million in pop.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if there's tables and venues here I'm not aware of. Which is another part of the problem - if there is a smaller public event held, it isn't advertised nearly as well as such events were a decade ago.
So... I guess at least in my city, something the TTRPG hobby needs is events, PFS and AL hosted again at public venues. And...good advertising of them.

It's much the same here on the other side, in St. John's, NL, but fewer and smaller on all fronts.

 

[kronovan]

It's much the same here on the other side, in St. John's, NL, but fewer and smaller on all fronts.

Well damn, that's not good to hear. Because every Canadian knows that as far as CDN cities go, St. John's is the place for partying. Never seen so much nightlife in a city that size.

 

[monsmord]

Well damn, that's not good to hear. Because every Canadian knows that as far as CDN cities go, St. John's is the place for partying. Never seen so much nightlife in a city that size.

That's one way to describe it. Another is: nothing happens the rest of the day.

 

[Jeff2222]

More tools for playing without a GM, co-operative or solo modes, would be welcome.

I don't have much experience with current games yet, but from what I have looked at in Pathfinder 2e for example, it seems like the elaborate combat system is a central part of the game and could be fun to play as a mini-game in itself, even without a GM.

A publisher who designs adventures with interesting combat encounters could include automatons to replace the GM's role in running the encounters, similar to the automatons that some board games use to emulate missing players. It wouldn't be the same experience as playing the adventure with a GM, but it could still provide a fun way for new players to learn some of the game's mechanics and to get some value from the game books they have on the shelf even if they can't find a GM or group to play with.

 

[Jd Smith1]

More tools for playing without a GM, co-operative or solo modes, would be welcome.

I don't have much experience with current games yet, but from what I have looked at in Pathfinder 2e for example, it seems like the elaborate combat system is a central part of the game and could be fun to play as a mini-game in itself, even without a GM.

A publisher who designs adventures with interesting combat encounters could include automatons to replace the GM's role in running the encounters, similar to the automatons that some board games use to emulate missing players. It wouldn't be the same experience as playing the adventure with a GM, but it could still provide a fun way for new players to learn some of the game's mechanics and to get some value from the game books they have on the shelf even if they can't find a GM or group to play with.

Have you tried online gaming? The sheer volume of people looking for a regular game is staggering.

 

[Jeff2222]

Have you tried online gaming? The sheer volume of people looking for a regular game is staggering.

I have been looking into play-by-post because it doesn't require a regular schedule or voice connection, but the games I see being run lean heavily towards a literary style of play, perhaps not surprising given the medium, but it is not really what I enjoy. The exception I have found so far are the Pathfinder Society games which seem more oriented towards beginners and casual players, so that is why I am interested in learning Pathfinder 2e.

Everywhere I have looked though seems to have the problem of more people wanting to play than wanting to GM, and I think more support for solo or co-op play could help with that.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I have been looking into play-by-post because it doesn't require a regular schedule or voice connection, but the games I see being run lean heavily towards a literary style of play, perhaps not surprising given the medium, but it is not really what I enjoy. The exception I have found so far are the Pathfinder Society games which seem more oriented towards beginners and casual players, so that is why I am interested in learning Pathfinder 2e.

Everywhere I have looked though seems to have the problem of more people wanting to play than wanting to GM, and I think more support for solo or co-op play could help with that.

Roll20 games tend to be more combat-dynamic. But yes, GMs are in demand.

 

[Reynard]

It being May 4th, I am reminded that the hobby really needs a great official Star Wars RPG that is supported and an easy onramp into the hobby. I still think that an Official 5E Star Wars RPG would break every crowd funding record ever (even if I don't necessarily think 5E is the best fit for a Star Wars RPG).

Of all the pop culture properties, I think Star Wars has the broadest appeal and most versatility when it comes to RPGs.

 

[payn]

Too bad folks don’t seem to like FFG SW